Solar Ultraviolet-B Radiation and Insect Herbivory Trigger Partially Overlapping Phenolic Responses in Nicotiana attenuata and Nicotiana longiflora
Svato2
1 IFEVA, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas and Universidad de Buenos Aires, Avenida San Martín 4453, C1417DSE Buenos Aires, Argentina
2 Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Mass Spectrometry, Hans-Knoll Strasse 8, D-07745 Jena, Germany
3 Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Molecular Ecology, Hans-Knoll Strasse 8, D-07745 Jena, Germany
* For correspondence. E-mail ballare{at}ifeva.edu.ar
Received: 22 June 2006 Returned for revision: 15 August 2006 Accepted: 5 September 2006
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Plants exposed to solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280–315 nm) frequently suffer less insect herbivory than do plants that receive attenuated levels of UV-B. This anti-herbivore effect of solar UV-B exposure, which has been documented in several ecosystems, is in part mediated by changes in plant tissue quality. Exposure to UV-B can modify the abundance of a number of secondary metabolites, including phenolic compounds with potential impacts on insect herbivores. The aim of this study is to assess the potential anti-herbivore role of UV-B-induced phenolic compounds by comparing the phenolic profiles induced by UV-B and simulated insect herbivory in two wild species of the genus Nicotiana.
METHODS: Plants grown under field and glasshouse conditions were exposed to contrasting levels of UV-B. Half of the plants of the attenuated UV-B treatment were given a simulated herbivory treatment, where leaves were mechanically damaged and immediately treated with oral secretions of Manduca sexta caterpillars. This treatment is known to mimic the impact of real herbivory on the expression of plant defences in Nicotiana. Phenolic profiles induced by UV-B and simulated herbivory were characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS).
KEY RESULTS: UV-B induced the accumulation of several UV-absorbing phenolic compounds that are known to play a significant role in UV-B screening. Interestingly, there was a significant convergence in the phenolic profiles induced by UV-B and simulated herbivory: chlorogenic acid and dicaffeoylspermidine isomers, in particular, displayed a similar pattern of response to these stimuli. In contrast, rutin, the only flavonoid that accumulated in significant quantities in the experiments, was only induced by UV-B.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the anti-herbivory effect induced by UV-B may be mediated at least in part by the accumulation of phenylpropanoid derivatives that are similar to those induced by the plant in response to insect herbivory.
Key words: Chlorogenic acid, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, rutin, UV-B, Nicotiana
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